


Until We Fly Again

by femellerklem



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Angst, Baby Harry, F/M, Family, Family Feels, Feels, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Parent-Child Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-22
Updated: 2020-05-22
Packaged: 2021-03-03 01:07:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,847
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24306409
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/femellerklem/pseuds/femellerklem
Summary: While stuck at home, James and Lily think about a future for Harry.
Relationships: James Potter/Lily Evans Potter
Comments: 6
Kudos: 21





	Until We Fly Again

**Author's Note:**

> A companion to my story _All the Infinite Things_ (link in the end note)

James paced around the living room for what had to be the twentieth time, trying in vain to quiet his screaming son. It had been like this for the last few evenings; Harry would start throwing a tantrum sometime during dinner, throw the rest of his food onto the floor, scream the house down no matter what they tried, and maybe go to sleep after at least two hours of crying. 

It made James’s heart ache to see Harry so unhappy.

“Shh, I know mate, I know,” he said, bouncing Harry on his shoulder as he paced the room and wincing as the baby screamed in his ear again. He threw an exasperated look at Lily, who was trying to finish writing a letter to Dumbledore.

“If we weren’t shut up in here I’d take him flying,” he said. “That’s what my dad did with me, even when I was older and just couldn’t sleep.”

“James—” 

“I know, I know we can’t. I was just thinking,” said James, trying his hardest to keep the irritated edge out of his voice. He brought Harry over to the window. 

“Looks like it’s going to rain soon,” James grumbled. “Guess we couldn’t have taken you out anyway.”

Harry continued to scream. James sighed as he patted his back and walked back to Lily. She was smiling, but James could tell by her eyes that she was just as exhausted as he was.

“Do you want your niffler, Harry?” she asked sweetly, holding the little stuffed toy out to him. Harry snatched the niffler and threw it to the ground with surprising strength, not even stopping to take a breath.

“No to the niffler then,” said James. “That’s no to the niffler, no to bouncing, no to colored lights; he’s not hungry or gassy or sick…”

“Did you try giving him his—”

“ _Yes,_ I did. I’ve tried everything,” James snapped, holding Harry closer. Lily raised her eyebrows.

“Don’t take that tone with me,” she said coolly. “You’re exhausted; why don’t you let me take him for a bit.”

“I’ve got him, really—”

_“James.”_

He handed the baby over and sat down on the couch, rubbing his face under his glasses. Lily sat at the desk chair, cooing softly to Harry as she rocked him back and forth, avoiding James’s eyes.

“I’m sorry,” he said after a few moments. Lily looked at him, and her eyes softened.

“I know,” she said as she rubbed Harry’s back. He was gulping and hiccupping now; the worst of the tantrum appeared to be over. “It’s getting late. I think I’ll give him a feed and go put him down now.”

“I’ll clean up the kitchen, then,” said James. Lily gave him a grateful smile as she headed up the stairs. 

When the kitchen was clean, James went straight up to say goodnight to Harry. Lily was holding him in her arms and rocking him back and forth and back and forth as she sang a lullaby. Her hair shimmered in the lamplight as she bent down to kiss Harry’s forehead. James smiled at them from the doorway; in his mind, there had never been anything quite so beautiful. 

He approached as Lily lowered the baby into his cot. Harry’s little face was angelic in sleep, as though he hadn’t been a little terror for the last few hours.

“Is it bad to say I almost wish he slept more often?” asked Lily, resting her head on James’s shoulder as he wrapped his arms around her. “Not that I don’t love playing with him, but he’s so peaceful now.”

James hummed in agreement and pressed a kiss to her hair. “Nah,” he said. “I hate it when he cries, too.”

They stayed there for a few more moments, holding each other and watching Harry’s little chest rise and fall in the steady rhythm of sleep. 

“You think he’ll make it through the night alright?” asked James as they shut the door behind them and headed downstairs.

“I hope so,” said Lily. “I could use a bit of relaxation.”

Rain began to fall as they made their way back to the living room, turning the evening sky a dusky grey and pattering against the windows. James went to go watch, even pressing his forehead against the cool glass. Not even the rain could obscure the little fence surrounding their garden and the street beyond.

It wasn’t long before he felt Lily’s warm hand in his. 

“I’m sorry about earlier,” he said. “I was frustrated and I—”

“I know,” she said, leaning her head against his shoulder. They stood there in silence, watching the rain cover the windowsill in little rivulets and causing the tree leaves to shake. James was reminded for a brief moment of his childhood home, just a few streets away, where he used to run around the garden and take his broomstick out to the meadows just outside town and fly until the sun set.

“I just wish we could take him somewhere,” said James after a few moments. “I know we can’t, but he’s going to grow older eventually. He can’t be locked up forever. Sirius and Peter and maybe Remus will come visit and he’ll start to wonder why we can’t go see them, or why other kids get to play in the street and he can’t. And we won’t be able to tell him _when_ he can go outside, because for that to happen, well…” He trailed off as he felt Lily grow tense. “Who knows when that’ll be?”

Lily reached out to put her arms around his waist, and he did the same, holding her shoulders tightly.

“I just want him to be happy,” he whispered after a while.

“He will be,” said Lily, rubbing his back. “He’s got us. That’s enough for now, at least.”

“I guess,” said James. “We’ll have to get him a toy broomstick soon, though. While he’s small enough to learn inside the house.”

Lily raised her eyebrows. “That’s your first priority, is it?”

“Of course,” he said, grinning down at her. She smiled back. 

“I’ve got an idea,” said Lily. “Why don’t we make a list?”

“A list?”

“A list of all the places we’re going to take Harry when all of this is over,” she said, hurrying over to the desk and rifling through the drawers. “I thought I had— damn, I used the last of our parchment for that letter to Dumbledore tonight.”

“Hold on, I think I might…aha!” said James, rifling around in his pockets and pulling out a small square of parchment. “This’ll do!”

Lily sighed. “Why do you have a random piece of parchment in your trousers?”

“Why don’t you?” he asked casually, sitting down at the desk and picking up a quill, doing his best to smooth out the parchment as he began to write.

_Places to take Harry_

“Alright, what first?” he said. 

“Oh, I’d love to take him to the beach,” said Lily. “Do you remember that one I told you about? Where my parents used to take us when we were little?”

“The one with—”

“—with the white sand!” Lily finished for him. “And the bluffs, and the water that was always a little too cold for swimming…”

“He’d love the beach,” said James, writing down _the white sand beach_ and smiling to himself as he imagined Harry wearing a little hat in the sun, holding onto their hands and squealing with laughter as the waves rushed up to his toes. “My parents hardly ever took me. We’d just go to this one park not too far away. I’ve told you about it, haven’t I?”

“Is that the one with the flying wooden dragons?” asked Lily.

“That’s the one!” said James, writing it down. “You know, that park is the reason I became so good at Quidditch. I loved those dragons so much I begged my parents for a pet one, but they thought it wouldn’t be the best idea and gave me a broomstick instead.”

“You poor deprived child,” said Lily, grinning. 

“I know,” said James. He looked back down at the list. “Right, where else?”

“Ooh, Diagon Alley!” said Lily, her face lighting up. “We have to take him to Florean Fortescue’s!”

“Definitely,” said James. “We should also take him down the street where my dad used to live. You remember?”

“Our first date after Hogwarts? Of course I remember,” said Lily. “That was the street with the adorable little café, wasn’t it?”

“Well, yes, and that Quidditch shop that sold all the old-timey memorabilia. That’s where I got that 1954 World Cup program. Speaking of, we _have_ to take him to the Quidditch World Cup next year.”

“The Order will have to get moving then,” said Lily. 

“I guess we could wait until 1986,” said James. “Canada’s set to host that one, but I’m sure we’ll be able to get an International Portkey.”

“James, I don’t think…”

But James had already written it down. “If not, then we’ll wait until 1990,” he said. “Or 1994. And by 1998 he’ll be all grown up, but I’m sure he’ll still want to go with us. He’ll still think we’re cool.”

Lily stood behind him and began to rub his shoulders. “Just don’t get your hopes too high, alright?”

“I know,” he said, leaning back into her touch and staring off to the window again. “He’s just growing so quickly.”

“I know,” she whispered, bringing her arms around to hug him. He reached up to hold her arms, the rain serenading their quiet breathing.

“Oh, that reminds me,” Lily said, “Alice sent another letter yesterday. Apparently little Neville is finally walking!”

“Good for him,” said James.

“Put Frank and Alice on the list,” said Lily. “Harry and Neville will be in the same year. I think it’d be nice for him to have a friend before Hogwarts. The McKinnons too, while you’re at it. I know Marlene’s kids are a few years older—”

“Never hurts to be friends with upperclassmen,” said James. “Right, where else?”

“How about the river?” she said. “You know, the one just over the hill outside town?”

“Where we had the picnic? Of course I remember,” said James.

He could see it perfectly in his head: the sunlight filtering through the canopy of bright green summer leaves, casting dappled shadows over their faces and glinting off the gurgling, slow-moving water; the chirping of birds and crickets amid the rustle of the wind; the softness of the grass beneath his bare feet. Lily had looked so beautiful in that hat and yellow sundress, lying on their picnic blanket as they laughed and teased each other and ate too many strawberries. He could still hear, with perfect clarity, her shrieks of laughter as he’d carried her over to the water and playfully threatened to throw her in, her gentle voice as she’d taught him the words to an old muggle song, and her soft sigh as she’d curled up against him on the picnic blanket, closing her eyes and murmuring that this was her new favorite place in the world. In that moment, he couldn’t agree more. 

_Harry would love it,_ he thought as he wrote down _Lily’s favourite spot on the river._

“Speaking of the river,” said James, “I bet he’d love the forest by my mum and dad’s old house—the one they lived in before moving to Godric’s Hollow. They used to take me there all the time when I was a kid. ”

“And the unicorn waterfall!” said Lily. James sighed.

“Lily, you know that probably wasn’t—”

“I know what I saw, James,” she said. “It’s a lovely place anyway, even if you’re convinced that the unicorn we saw was just an escaped muggle horse.”

“The muggle who lived nearby had white horses.”

“Whatever. Hestia was there too and she agrees with me. Oh, that reminds me, we never did get to that bakery…”

“Right, that bakery,” said James, writing down _The bakery with the scones Hestia never shuts up about._ “At least anything there’ll be better than those biscuits Sirius was going to give to McGonagall on her birthday year before last.”

Lily burst out laughing. “I still can’t believe he messed them up that badly!”

“Hey, they weren’t that bad—”

“They were literal rocks, James. They even tasted like dirt.”

James shook his head, though he was laughing too. “At least they looked vaguely appetizing.”

“At least he had the good sense to listen to Remus and actually tried them before sending them off,” said Lily. 

“Oh, McGonagall wouldn’t have cared,” said James. “She could use them as projectiles and give Peeves a run for his money. Knock out unsuspecting baby Death Eaters with a single blow.”

They were both laughing now, Lily leaning her head against his shoulder. 

“McGonagall’s going to _love_ having Harry,” said James. “I bet he’ll be her favorite student.”

“And what if he’s not in Gryffindor?” said Lily.

“I’m going to pretend you didn’t say that, but my point still stands,” said James, grinning as Lily continued to laugh. “She’ll have to love him. He’ll be a top student and make the Quidditch team his first year and—”

“I thought first years couldn’t make the house teams anymore.”

“She’ll probably make an exception,” said James. “He’ll be that good. You know what, we should put her on the list. We can make a surprise visit to her office.”

“I’m sure she’d love that,” said Lily sarcastically.

“Hey, she couldn’t stay mad at me even when I _didn’t_ have the world’s most adorable baby with me,” said James, grinning as he wrote down _Surprise visit to McGonagall’s office._

“You’re right about that,” said Lily. “She _is_ going to love him.”

“It’d be hard not to,” said James quietly. 

Lily hummed in agreement. “Remember when Sirius met him for the first time? How nervous he was? And now look at him.”

“He’ll be taking Harry out on his motorbike in no time,” said James. 

“Well, he is a bit young still…”

“We’ll put it on the list, then,” said James, scribbling it down.

Just then, they heard a small cry coming from Harry’s bedroom. 

“I’ll get him,” said Lily. “You find a safe place to put that list. Preferably not your pocket.”

She smiled up at him, and James couldn’t help but kiss her before she went to go tend to their son. As he looked around the room, his eyes landed on a pile of books sitting atop the bookshelf that hadn’t moved in ages. They were Remus’s old textbooks; he’d asked James and Lily to hold on to them until he found a bigger apartment, but for now he had no room to spare. 

James picked up the book on top of the pile and saw that it was one of their defense textbooks. He flipped through it, overcome by a strange twinge of nostalgia at the color-coded definitions and diagrams of spells he’d now used against real dark wizards. Remus’s book was much neater than his had ever been, containing only the occasional margin note instead of endless doodles and rude jokes and notes that he could slide across the desk to Sirius.

James slipped the parchment in between the center pages, leaving a little bit peeking out, before closing the book and putting it back on the shelf where the parchment was just barely visible. The list might grow as time went on, and James wanted to make sure they would always be able to find it. Even though a part of him knew, deep down, that they might never stop waiting.

He headed up the stairs and came to a stop outside the nursery, where Lily was standing over the cot, watching Harry drift off to sleep. Even though her back was turned to him, James could tell that her eyes were shining in the lamplight, accentuating her soft smile. The same smile that, according to Lily, James wore himself whenever he held Harry.

He approached them, silently slipping his arm around Lily’s waist as she did the same. Harry slept on, blissfully unaware. 

“He got himself back to sleep,” whispered Lily.

“Did he?” whispered James. “Clever boy.”

He smiled down at his son, at his perfect little boy, overcome by the surging wave of protectiveness and love that he’d felt since the day Harry was born. 

_One day,_ James thought. One day he and Lily would take Harry outside and let him fly until the sun went down, watch him laugh as the wind whipped through his hair, and catch him if he ever fell. They’d take him to London or Hogsmeade or Diagon Alley and buy him whatever he wanted. Within reason, of course. One day he’d be able to run as fast as he could for as long as he wanted; he’d feel the grass on his feet and the sun on his face and dip his toes in the sea. 

One day, they’d cross off every item on that list.

He’d make sure of it.

**Author's Note:**

> And then they all lived happily ever after and nobody died The End :)
> 
> If you liked it, please leave a comment!
> 
> (And if you want to find out if Harry ever found the list, check out [this](https://archiveofourown.org/works/22243366) story of mine)


End file.
